Donghae’s POV

“Donghae! You must focus! You’re angry with her, not sad!” the director yelled at me. I tried to say the lines again, but now I couldn’t even do that. I knew what it meant and even if I wasn’t me, but a character, I was unable to detach my feelings. ‘I don’t care who she plays against. I don’t care what she does...’ These are your lines Donghae. Just say them! It’s not that hard! And don’t think about Kayla! I opened my mouth and said them. Nonetheless, I said them emotionlessly and without depth. They became flat in my mouth, pointless, harmless. No one would believe them. I sighed.

“I’m sorry.” I bowed to the director. “Can we take a short break?” I asked. He sat down in his chair, frustrated, although willing to let me walk off the set for as long as I needed to. I went to my makeup room and sat down on a chair with my hands on my head, my nails slightly pressing against the skin. “What am I doing? I never get distracted like this... What is it with those damn lines?” I muttered.

“Hey, Donghae! What are you doing here? Don’t you have a scene to film?” my make-up artist wondered. I looked up at her and she immediately saw that I felt troubled. “Oh... Is it about your girlfriend?” Wow, I didn’t know I was THAT easy to read... I simply nodded my head. “Ah... What is it? You can tell me more if you want to. I’m really intrigued with your life because it’s far more interesting than my own! Haha,” she chuckled. “Tell me.”

“Nah, I don’t think it’ll help to focus more on her... Can’t you try to make me think of something else than her instead? I think that’s what I need right now... Or something that makes me really angry. That would work too.” She pondered on this for a while, tapping her chin. Then she smiled at me.

“I know! I’ll mess up your hair! That’ll get you upset enough!” I chuckled.

“Don’t... It took you an hour to fix it,” I reminded her. “Maybe I just need to calm down and go into character again. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“If you say so...” she answered. She began to make her way out of the room when she suddenly turned around. “By the way, Siwon told me to tell you that he’s gone away. He was going to do something and said it might take up to two hours. Just so you know.” I rose onto my feet.

“What?! Has he left me now that I need him?!” I cried out. How could he? I’ve been in and out of focus all day... Where could he have gone?

“Haha, I think you found your anger, Donghae,” the makeup artist remarked. I glared at her.

“Mm...” She left, her loud laughter echoing in the room. I headed out to the scene. “Sir, do you know where Siwon has gone?” I asked the director. He shook his head.

“No, I don’t. Are you ready to perform your scene? We really must get it done, Donghae.” I sighed but nodded. I knew I needed to stay professional in this situation, stay in character and remember who I was. After all, Kayla might have had trouble creating a good reputation, but I already had one that needed protection. If I bummed on this, my reputation would take the damage. What if other directors began to think that I was hard to work with? They’d never hire me if they believed that. And I wanted to pursue a career in acting. I was good at it, I knew I was. Okay, focus Donghae. You can do this. Control your emotions...

“I’m ready!” I announced to the director. He ordered the light guy and sound guy to check their equipment.

After that he yelled, “Action!” I looked into the mirror and narrowed my eyes a bit before turning to the actress who played my assistant. I focused on her eyes, staring right into them. Then I said all my lines, like they were supposed to be said. The actress replied and I chuckled at her words. I felt back on top. “Cut! Thank you, Donghae! You did that perfectly. Just deliver those lines three more times just like that, and we’ll be done with the scene. All right?” I gave him thumbs up and got ready to do it once more.

-

Kayla’s POV

“Welcome to Taipei, ladies and gentlemen. The weather is lovely this evening and the temperature is around 19 degrees. We hope your flight has been delightful and that you choose to fly with our company again. Have a nice stay here in Taiwan. Thank you.” I looked out at the small airport. I waited until we’d come to a full stop and the other passengers had walked off. Stepping out of the plane, I felt a breeze that made me smile. I proceeded to pick up my suitcase and then towards the arrival doors. There weren’t a lot of people waiting, so I could easily scout Siwon out in the crowd. He waved his hand at me happily. I couldn’t contain the happiness that spread down to my fingertips. I ran up to him as fast as I could, throwing myself into his embrace. He hugged me tightly.

“I’m so happy to see you,” he breathed. He put me down on the ground and smiled widely.

“I’m happy to see you too, oppa! It’s been awhile. I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you as well. Come on, we need to get back to the filming. I don’t have that much time before it’s my own scene, heh.” Siwon led me out to a car and we got in. During the drive, he told me what they’d been doing the past days. And one thing worried me; it seemed Donghae had had trouble to focus. That doesn’t sound like him at all... He’s very precise when it comes to acting. We arrived to a hotel and Siwon showed me to their room where I left my suitcase. When that was done, we got back into the car and drove to the location where they were filming. It was a huge building that didn’t look too different to the YG building back in Seoul.

“Wow, is this where you shoot? It’s amazing!” I exclaimed. Siwon chuckled.

“Yes, this is where the magic happens. That reminds me, have you seen Donghae’s new hair colour? It’s almost orange haha.” I turned my head, giving him a sceptic look. Orange? Someone coloured my stunning boyfriend’s hair ORANGE?! “He looks good in it though,” Siwon added. I highly doubted that.

“Aha,” I just mumbled. Siwon and I went inside the building and road the escalators up to the third floor. I could see the cameras all set up in different angles and how the staff ran around the set, checking so that everything worked the way it should. Lastly I saw door with Hae’s and Siwon’s names on it. My heart beat fast as I stared at it. So Donghae was behind that door? All of a sudden, I felt unsure of what to actually say to him. The last thing hadn’t been very nice or loving, and I didn’t know how he felt about that yet. I hoped he wasn’t too mad at me, and I wished that he understood me now. Perhaps time had allowed him to think? Perhaps this thinking had led to a conclusion that wasn’t all bad. Otherwise, I would have to explain why I had chosen to sign that contract, even though I hadn’t been aware of the consequences.

“It’ll be fine,” Siwon said, pulling me out of my head. “He’s not mad at you any longer. Not to the point where he can’t listen to what you have to say at least.”

“Okay... Are you sure he’s in here?”

“Positive! He has finished his scene and wasn’t in the hotel room so this is where he ought to be. But I can go in first and check if you want me to?” he suggested. I thought for a moment and decided that I liked that idea better than just barging in and not find him. Siwon flashed me a smile before he opened the door and walked in. “Hyung?” I heard a loud, exaggerated gasp. Yup, that’s Donghae...

“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I have been freaking out about getting my lines correct and I needed to talk to you! I solved it though but OH MY GOD! You got me worried too! You left without telling a soul where you were going. That is not like you and I am very surprised and not happy!” Donghae scolded in ridiculously strange manner. His words were very incoherent and just blurred together. I wondered if Siwon had understood anything at all.

“Sorry, hyung. But it was urgent and I think you’ll forgive me when you see who I brought with me,” Siwon said in high spirits. Donghae puffed out some air, surely trying to put his bangs further to the side. Siwon chuckled. “Fine, see for yourself then.” He stepped aside and made room for me to walk in. Donghae’s chin dropped to the floor and he looked from Siwon to me and then back to Siwon. I laughed.

“Oppa~! Don’t you believe it’s me?” Once he’d heard my voice Donghae returned to his senses and ran up to me. I didn’t expect that he would hug me that tightly. He lifted me in the air and held me there until I asked, “Donghae? Mind putting me down?” He did as I’d bid and let me go. The sight of his tears shocked me a bit; I frowned deeply. “Hae? Are you crying? Why are you crying?”

“I’ve missed you,” he mumbled back, sniffling and wiping his tears. “What are you doing here, princess? I thought you were mad at me... I heard that you had moved out of the dorms. Did SM really throw you out? I’m so sorry for not being there... I’ve failed you, both as a friend and boyfriend. Please, forgive me.” I could feel how sincere he was about this. He had really believed that I was mad at him and didn’t want to speak with him anymore, which was stupid of him but also very sweet. I hit his head lightly.

“You’re stupid. I should be the one apologising! I failed you because I refused to listen to you. I should’ve done that and maybe we could have negotiated with SM and I could’ve stayed in the dorms. But now I recklessly did what I then thought was right. I’m sorry for not listening to you. And actually, that’s why I’m here. That, and because I want to explain what happened with the rumours.” Donghae nodded and motioned me to sit down on the couch. He sat down next to me.

“I got to know from the members that you solved it...” he sniffled, continuing to wipe his tears carefully. I took his hand in mine, caressing it lovingly. His hands were as soft as I remembered them to be, which might’ve sounded silly, but it had gone months since I had last seen him. Donghae took a deep breath. “Explain,” he encouraged.

“All right... After I had found out that not only you, but a lot of others – Lee Joon among those – were mad at me for not dealing with the rumour issue, I came up with a plan. I simply tweeted a friendly picture with Lee Joon and wrote something like: ‘With my friend and co-actor Lee Joon’. Amazingly enough, it seemed like people took that into account and stopped spreading the rumour that we were dating. I’m not a hundred percent sure it has all gone out since a lot of reporters on the press conference today asked me about it, but Lee Joon helped me out and confirmed to them that we are just friends and have never been more than that.”

“That was very kind of him,” Donghae cut in. “Was the press conference for the movie?”

“Mm, it’s done now...” I replied. Donghae smiled and leaned in to peck my forehead. I was astonished that he hadn’t targeted my lips yet. After all, weren’t we a couple?

“Anyway, that wasn’t all they asked me about during the press conference...” I trailed. Donghae gave me a curious look in his eye. “They asked me about you, too. And what I plan to do in the future...”

“What did you answer?” Donghae wondered. I smiled shyly, feeling a strong blush on my cheeks. Although I hadn’t told the reporters my true plan for the future I could at least reveal it to Donghae now. Okay, this is it...

“Well... It got me thinking. I have already thought of this before, but thanks to the press conference I now feel it’s the right thing to do, and what I want to do.” I made a small pause to take out the keys to my apartment. “I bought the apartment,” I continued with a smile. At first, Donghae just stared at the keys but then a small smile crept up on his lips.

“I’m really happy for you, princess. Is it at a safe location and all that so that fans won’t trouble you? Is it the home you wanted?” he asked. I bit my lip.

“I know it is, for me. Although... what I’m curious about is if it’s the home for you...and me.” Donghae stared at me quizzically. I giggled; I loved his confused expressions. He was so cute.

“What are you talking about?” I put the hand in my pocket and showed him the duplicated keys. His eyes got wide. “What...? You mean...” he trailed after words, though didn’t seem to find them, so I helped him out.

“They’re yours if you want them. The members found me two apartments... One of them was slightly bigger than the other. I chose the bigger one because... I want to share it with you.” I awaited his reaction and smiled as he started crying uncontrollably. I too felt a couple of tears tingling down my cheeks. “Donghae, I love you. And I want to start a life with you,” I said.

“I love you too,” he whispered. His desperate attempt to hold back the tears wasn’t working that well for him. He looked up from the keys into my eyes, and then he nodded. “Yes, princess. I would love to start a life with you as well. It would be every dream come true...” With that reply, so simple and wonderful to hear, I attacked him with a kiss. He fell back on the couch and wrapped his arms around my waist to answer the kiss. We stayed like that until we both needed to take in some air. I lay down on his chest and just buried my face in it, inhaling the scent of him. I could truthfully imagine waking up like this every morning, in the apartment that we had built together. Because we had built it together in a sense; all the things in it came from his bedroom and my old apartment. Every photo was of us and the members, all the knick-knacks were things we had collected either separately or together. Donghae and I hadn’t been together for so long, but I was sure my heart would love him no matter how much time passed by.

“Donghae? Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure,” he replied.

“You know that some of the movie ‘Dreaming of Seoul’ was based on my own life right?” He nodded his head. “In the end of the movie... She asks the guy to move in with her. And he says yes, of course. I thought about you while shooting that scene. And I dedicated that particular scene to you. No one knows that but you, me and the director.” Donghae shook his head, smiling wider. “Aren’t I the best?” I cheekily exclaimed. It made him laugh.

“You are the best, my princess. And I love you so much for that and a whole lot of other things too!” He sat up and pressed his lips to mine again. When our lips parted I took the initiative to ruffle his hair.

“I love you hair by the way. At first I was sceptic, but I really like it.”

“Thanks, haha.” He pecked my lips. “Best reunion ever,” he stated.

“Ha, it has only begun!” I retorted. Donghae raised a brow. “Well, duh! I’m starving! My prince is going to buy me a nice dinner and then we’ll do something we haven’t done in like... too long.” I blushed at the last I’d said. Though I had missed it... Donghae, however, smirked.

“As my princess wishes!” he complied and stood up. “I’m going to treat you an evening full of wonders and pleasures!” He lifted me bridal-style and kissed my nose. I stuck out my tongue.

“As long as I get to be in charge!” I exclaimed excitedly.

“Mm... Can’t promise that,” he replied with a wink. “You know it’s better when I’m in charge.” He started to carry me out of the room. “But you trust that I’ll take care of you, don’t you?” he asked. I leant my head on his shoulder and giggled.

“Yup. I trust you with my life.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING THIS STORY AND STAYING WITH ME ALL THIS TIME! I MISSED MY DEADLINE A BIT (BECAUSE OF CRYING) BUT OH WELL! I LOOOOOOVE YOOOOOOU <3